God Agent: All Hail The Great Kobold

Chapter 37: First Mentor

Ka’z slowly pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped into the prison chamber.

The room was surprisingly empty.

Unlike the other holding cells carved throughout the underground tunnels, this chamber had clearly been prepared specifically for dangerous prisoners. Thick stone walls surrounded the room while crude earth pillars reinforced the ceiling. Several lamps burned dimly upon the walls, their pale glow barely illuminating the interior.

His eyes quickly found the only occupant.

Boi.

The goblin’s head protruded from the stone wall as though the earth itself had swallowed him whole. Everything below his neck remained completely encased within hardened rock. Dried blood stained the stone around his shoulders while sweat rolled continuously down his forehead. One eye was swollen shut and bruises covered almost every visible part of his face. Judging from the injuries, the welcoming committee had not exactly been gentle after dragging him back to the colony.

Ka’z couldn’t help staring for a moment.

"That looks uncomfortable."

Boi slowly opened one eye before forcing out a tired smile.

"It is..." he answered weakly. "Your people are very welcoming."

Ka’z simply shrugged.

Using Shiki as support, he carefully lowered himself onto the cold stone floor opposite the goblin. Every movement reminded him of yesterday’s battle as pain radiated throughout his battered body. After settling into a comfortable position, he rested Shiki gently beside himself before looking back at the goblin.

"You can’t really blame them."

Boi remained silent.

"Our first encounter started with five of your people raping and murdering one of ours. When we tracked them down and killed them, your clan responded by demanding slaves as compensation. Then your people invaded our territory and started building a military camp a few hours away from our home." Ka’z spoke calmly, almost casually, as though simply recounting events. "Honestly... you should be grateful you’re still breathing."

The words caused Boi’s weary expression to harden. For several moments he simply stared at the young kobold before finally speaking.

"...Not that it matters anymore, but that isn’t what we were told."

Ka’z tilted his head slightly.

"What were you told?"

Boi sighed.

"That five goblins entered the southern forest and were slaughtered without reason. Then a diplomatic party was sent to negotiate compensation, only for every one of them to be murdered as well."

Silence settled between them and Ka’z slowly lowered his gaze. Somehow, that didn’t surprise him. Whether someone had deliberately twisted the story or whether the information had simply become distorted as it traveled through different mouths no longer mattered.

Human history had been filled with wars started for miscommunication. Sometimes entire nations had slaughtered one another over lies both sides genuinely believed were true.

Now nearly thirty goblins had died and nine kobolds had lost their lives. There was no undoing any of it. No apology could return the dead.

This war was going to happen even if the truth came out now.

Ka’z slowly nodded. He leaned his head back against the stone wall.

"Yep. Whatever the truth was... it doesn’t really matter anymore. All either of us can do now is keep walking the path we’ve found ourselves on."

His voice sounded strangely distant. Almost as though he were trying to convince himself more than the goblin before him.

Boi quietly studied him. Even after everything that had happened he still found himself unable to dislike this peculiar little kobold. His gaze slowly drifted toward the steel staff resting beside Ka’z and a faint smile appeared.

"You seem rather interested in my creation."

Ka’z glanced down at Shiki before lightly scratching the back of his head.

"More or less. I’m actually more curious about this type of magic." His fingers gently tapped the staff.

Boi raised an eyebrow.

"But... didn’t you already prove your magic was superior?" he asked with genuine curiosity. "Why spend time studying something inferior?"

Ka’z immediately rolled his eyes.

He honestly felt like Boi was acting exactly like a child who had lost a competition and now acting salty.

"I never called your magic inferior. I called it flawed. You’re the one who kept calling us barbarians."

Boi blinked. His eyes wandered thoughtfully toward the cave ceiling and several seconds passed, he slowly looked back at Ka’z with the straightest face imaginable.

"...I don’t remember saying that."

Ka’z’s left eye twitched.

’You shameless motherfucker...’

He knew without the slightest doubt. The bastard was deliberately pretending to forget.

Somehow Ka’z managed not to react. He had come here searching for knowledge. Starting an argument now would accomplish absolutely nothing.

Instead he simply sighed and leaned slightly forward.

"So... Tell me about your magic."

Boi merely smiled.

"And why would I do that?"

Ka’z frowned.

"I’ll make your punishment a little more bearable."

Boi immediately shook his head.

"No. I’m going to be executed eventually. So why would I willingly hand my clan’s knowledge over to my enemies?"

His answer came without the slightest hesitation and Ka’z fell silent.

Honestly that was a fair question. He lowered his eyes toward the stone floor while quietly thinking. Several moments later he slowly looked back up.

"I’m not asking you to betray your people. I’m not even here representing my colony."

Ka’z spread both arms, exposing the bloodstained bandages wrapped around nearly every part of his body.

"As you can see... I came here immediately after waking up. I came because I’m curious. I’m not asking you to strengthen Vaal’kor. I’m asking you to pass your research onto someone willing to continue it long after you’re gone.I’m asking to become your student."

Silence filled the chamber and Boi’s remaining open eye gradually widened. His expression shifted from surprise, to confusion, the finally to thoughtful silence. Not once during his life had someone approached him asking for knowledge.

Even among the shamans, very few truly appreciated research itself. Knowledge had always been a lonely pursuit. Yet now the person asking to inherit everything he knew was a kobold child.

He couldn’t help finding the situation amusing. His circumstances were already hopeless. There was virtually no chance he would leave this prison alive.

If he died tomorrow, everything he had spent years discovering would simply disappear alongside him.

His gaze lingered on Ka’z and then another thought surfaced.

This child held influence. More influence than any hatchling should possess. Even while imprisoned he had overheard enough conversations between the guards to understand that much.

They claimed he had warned the kobold warriors of the arrays before the battle and the prediction had come true.

Then he remembered when Ka’z blocked his path and asked everyone to leave. The exact words he used them was;

"I am the Child of Prophecy, I won’t die here."

Then he remembered Ka’z unusual control over his scales. It was something I heard of. Clearly this child is different from the rest.

Perhaps, if Boi can befriend him and remain in his good grace, he might survive long enough for the Ashmork Clan main force to arrive and decimate this small colony.

After all Grash would come. Of that he held no doubt. In the end, he truly had nothing left to lose.

A slow smile spread across his bruised face.

"Very well. I’ll make you my student."

His voice regained a hint of dignity. Deep inside, he laughed to himself. Ka’z calmly nodded, completely unaware of the calculations running through the goblin’s mind.

"Good."

Without another word he pressed one hand against the stone floor. Mana quietly flowed outward. The earth surrounding Boi’s upper chest slowly crumbled apart before falling onto the floor in heavy chunks.

The goblin immediately inhaled sharply.

"Haaa..."

His lungs greedily filled with air. For the first time since being imprisoned, his chest expanded properly. Being embedded inside solid stone had never completely stopped him from breathing, but every breath had felt shallow and suffocating.

Now, simply filling his lungs felt wonderful. He closed his eye briefly while enjoying the sensation.

"...Thank you."

Ka’z simply nodded. He rested one hand upon Shiki and a faint smile appeared across his battered face.

"Now... Let’s talk about magic."